By Nick Austin – Spear Reporter | Photo courtesy of SJSU Athletics
The Spartans continue to set personal best times across the Don Kirby two-day event as they prepare for the Mountain West Indoor Championships on Feb. 27 in Albuquerque N.M.
Day one saw Spartans from different disciplines set personal bests.
Graduate student Simone Johnson set a lifetime best in the long jumps while also finishing in third place with a jump of 6.25 meters (20’ 6 ¼).
Senior Jodeci Weems also set a personal best jump with a mark of 5.65m (18’ 6 ½).
“The long jump crew represented themselves well today,” director of track & field and cross country Charles Ryan said. “The spirit of competition was high. To come in here on day one and represent the way we did, I thought was impressive.”
In the unseeded 200m dash freshman Aiden Simon finished with a personal best time of 22.22.
Junior Christopher Coats also finished in third place in the men’s 200m dash invitational with a personal best time of 20.87.
On day two of the Don Kirby Invite, The Spartans continued their momentum from the first day.
Junior Christopher Malone finished in seventh place in the 800m dash while also setting a school record with a time of 1:52.85.
Simone Johnson also won her triple jump event with a personal best mark of 13.78m (45’ 2 ½”).
This result pushes Johnson up to fourth in the nation in NCAA Women’s Triple Jump.
“The Horizontal jumps carried us again, as they have all year,” said Ryan. Coach Harris is leading that charge so props to them.”
Junior Sky Hagan had a good 60m hurdles final as she finished in second place with a time of 8.13 seconds.
Lastly, sophomore Katharina Graman and junior Christopher Coats both finished in fifth place in their respective events. Graman finished with a personal best mark of 12.98m (42’ 7”) in the triple jump and Coats with a 46.77 in the 400m dash invitational.
“We’re in a really good position going into the conference championships in two weeks,” said Ryan. “We need to focus, we need to tailor down the workouts and get everybody sharp for the championship indoor season.”
The Spartans will hit the track next at the Mountain West Indoor Championships on Feb. 27 through March 1 in Albuquerque N.M.
